“I started to see I needed positive support in my life”

February 13, 2012

Western Iowa – A single father of two sons, ages 7 and 5, Rich has been clean and sober for three years.

For years, his life was consumed by a string of challenges, but after connecting with a chain of community resources – first, the Family Investment Program (FIP), then Promise Jobs and then LSI’s FaDSS (Family Development and Self-Sufficiency) program – he’s put himself on a path of success.

“I didn’t know what to expect at first,” Rich said of FaDSS, the LSI program that helps families achieve goals to become more self-sufficient.

“The FaDSS program helped me set goals that were attainable and reachable,” he said. “They were my goals, and so I felt like I could achieve them.”

Those goals included finding preschool for his youngest son, starting and facilitating a group for fathers, getting out of the child welfare system, applying for jobs and finding child care during his work hours.

“I started to see I needed more positive supports in my life,” he said. “I started using my dads’ group, recovery supports, FaDSS and my church. ”

Obtaining a more secure employment situation was one of his immediate goals.

“I had a cruddy part-time job, far away,” he said. “I traveled a lot, but didn’t make more than minimum wage and wasn’t as financially set as I needed to be. It was hard to keep a job with my history in town and hanging out with a bad crowd.”

LSI staff encouraged and supported him in his job search, and since last May, Rich has merged personal and professional experience through his job with Parent Partners.

The program, available in many Iowa counties, matches parents currently involved in the child welfare system with other parents who previously had their children removed and successfully reunited with them.

Rich now helps other families succeed by sharing how he once stood in their shoes.

“I love the work I do,” Rich said. “If I wasn’t in the people business now, I don’t know what I’d be doing. I get to network with other professionals everywhere, organize events and see something important transpire. You’re not just punching metal in a factory. You’re helping make a lasting impression, and it’s a good feeling when you see people in stores who are doing good and staying sober.”

His former LSI FaDSS worker, Judy, helped him see the difference he could make in helping many other families become successful and productive members of society.

“She made that so clear, that this is something I could really take pride in,” he said. “Now I cover nine counties, and am well-respected by DHS and the courts.”

Rich took his story to the Iowa Capitol in January for FaDSS’s Day on the Hill, a time to advocate with legislators on the positive outcomes the program delivers for families, and shared a simple, but powerful message.

“What people are doing in the service community works,” Rich said emphatically. “The programs work.”

Learn more about parenting programs.